Radon Mitigation Systems

Professional Home Inspection Service has been installing radon control
systems in central NY since 1991. These systems are guaranteed to reduce
the radon levels in your home, commercial building or school to below the
EPA action level of 4.0 pC/L. One out of every three homes in our area
fails a radon test. Thousands of homes in our area are now protected from
elevated radon by our systems. Radon enters the home from the soil below.
These systems continuously draw the radon gas out from below the home and
vent the gases harmlessly into the atmosphere. Our ventilation systems
have low operating costs, require minimal maintenance, and are guaranteed.
A system can usually be installed with minimal disruption in the home in
one day, and can be scheduled within a week or two of your call. We use RadonAway products in our mitigation systems. Please
call us for a free estimate.

The EPA tells us how a radon mitigation system should be
installed in a document entitled Radon Mitigation Standards. These standards can be found at www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/mitstds.html These standards have been designed to ensure that the system will
be safely installed, durable and effective.

If you are receiving competing bids for radon mitigation, please be aware that low-ball estimates that you may receive are achieved by omitting services such as the radon retesting necessary to verify a successful mitigation, omitting back-draft testing that assures a safe installation, omitting the "right of cancellation" without fee as required by NYS law, and most importantly, limiting any guarantee to a specific ideal set of pre-conditions, meaning that you are likely to end up paying more in the end. Contrary to some other providers, we are a NYS listed, certified Radon Mitigation Contractor. Check the NYS Health Department website.

It may be hard to picture what a radon mitigation system
will look like in your home. The basic system will include white, four
inch plastic pipe extending from the basement floor to the exterior of
the house and terminating above the roof line. A white fully encased fan about the
size of a basket ball or smaller will be mounted on the piping somewhere outside of
the living space. A new less obtrusive rectangular box fan is now available for many installations. New Low Profile Radon Fan

During a radon mitigation project a six inch hole is drilled through the concrete floor and soil is removed to create a small pit under the floor. Next a piece of PVC pipe is inserted into the hole, sealed to the floor, and run to a point above a roof line, and a fan is installed in-line. When this fan is turned on it is like sticking a vacuum cleaner under the floor. Once more suction is created under the floor than the basement is developing, the flow of gases will be reversed and the radon will be drawn out of the soil before it can enter the home. Normally the only questions are how large a fan and how many suction points will be needed to create the required amount of suction. The majority of homes are corrected using one suction point and a small 50 watt fan. There are specific criteria for where the fan is to be located and where the pipe terminates so that the radon does not re-enter the house. Most houses in our area can be corrected for around $1,350, with the radon levels guaranteed. Of course additional sealing may required for houses with large crawlspaces, dirt floors, sump pumps, etc..

There are basically three standard ways to run the piping
from the basement to above the roof line. We can classify these three
standard piping routes as 1) "through the garage", 2) "through
closets" and 3) "up the exterior".

If we have provided you with a contract for radon mitigation
you can compare the proposed piping route that is in the contract with
those below and then click on sample photos for that type of system. Of
course your system may look somewhat different from the photos and there
are often several ways the piping can be run. The piping route that
is detailed in your contract represents what we think may be best. If
you have a preference as to where the piping is installed, by all means
let us know before the installation. We will do our best to accommodate
your wishes while providing a durable system.

The three most common piping routes:

Run the pipe up the basement foundation wall, through
the floor joist area into the garage, up the interior wall of the garage
into the attic and then through the rear roof slope. In this case
the fan is mounted in the garage attic.

Run the pipe through the basement ceiling, through closets
in the first and second floor (if applicable), pass into the main attic
and exit via the rear roof slope. In this case the fan is mounted
in the main attic. Photos
of a ranch house.

In some homes it is necessary to pull the radon gas out of a crawlspace in order to achieve acceptable radon levels in the home. If needed, we would seal the soil in the crawlspace with a membrane such as Dura-skrim and then run our pipe from below the membrane to one of the routes described above. Radon Mitigation in a Crawlspace